Things I’m Loving on the crazy home front

Being away in the UK for five nights, without my children, was a genuine, much needed break. Parenting 24/7 and home educating three active, bright and full on girls, in another country to their home, is exhausting and, as much as I love them and sharing so much amazing time with them, I totally needed a ‘mental health’ break

The week before I went away my camera came out a lot more than usual. I wanted to capture slices of every day life with my daughters, to take stock of those special moments and cherish them.

So, here are a few moments I loved in that week…

Finger painting with Miss 3 and capturing the thrill and delight as she really let herself go and explore the texture of the paint on her hands and the way it spread on the paper -

Creative inventions with some connecting rods-

Dive bombing in the swimming pool -

Chilled out story time and naps with Miss 3 -

Drinking white wine in the afternoon, as I had no where to drive (and I like to pretend I’m at a wine festival in Marlborough, New Zealand, from time to time – parenthood demands a strong imagination and lots of creativity!).

And these chocolates…. that ALL the family are devouring and loving!

And after my amazing trip away (Part 1 here), they welcomed me home with a fabulous greeting (young Miss 3 even had ‘Welcome Home Mum’ written on her face with face-paints, courtesy of Miss 8!)!

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Joining in with Things I’m Loving…

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life,there is always something you can be thankful for… no matter how simple it is.

I love that photo of you all back together again – the joy is palpable on your faces! And I love how much creative stuff you get up to at home with the girls – you are definitely more patient with ‘creative mess’ than I think I would be! So pleased you had such a wonderful time away – hopefully just the tonic to set you up for the year ahead xx

Welcome to the ramblings & photographs of a British expat Mum living mostly in Wellington (aka *coffee capital of the world*), New Zealand, since 1997.

This blog is a way to preserve sanity whilst raising children, capture the magic in the chaos, and share tales with family, friends, fellow parents and expats.

Along with my British born husband we have been bringing up our three Kiwi born daughters in the land of sheep, kiwi fruit and fine wine, since 2003 (with a brief 16 months living in Santa Barbara, California - where we home educated our daughters). We both first landed on New Zealand soil in 1996 (hubby) and 1997 (myself) - as fresh graduates from the UK wanting to live and work overseas... our 'OE' turned into something a lot longer and more life changing than we could ever have first anticipated!

Thank you for stopping by (if you would like to know more visit the 'About' page!).